Planning a bike trip seems to come down to the bike, repairs and maintenance, routes and maps, transporting the bike, camping stuff, clothing, personal stuff, and fitness.

The bike

I took my bike to Bikes@Vienna to ask for an assessment of its condition. The chain checked out okay, so that was a relief. Chains on long wheel base recumbents are long and replacing them also means replacing the gears in the rear. I'd just as soon trash my drivetrain on the trip and get a new one afterward. The brakes seemed a little mushy, so the mechanic tightened them up. My front tire, a smooth Primo Comet, was on its last legs so I replaced it with a Schwalbe Marathon which has more tread. I hoped to sacrifice a little rolling resistance to avoid falling down or skidding out. My rear tire seems to be in good shape despite 4,300 miles of wear. I imagine it will be toast after this ride so it will get it replaced then as well. Even though both tires have a Kevlar belt in them, I had the mechanic put a Mr. Tuffy tire liner inside both tires to help avoid flats.

I have a 'U' lock with a cable for security but this set up is a bit heavy. I will leave the U lock home and just use the cable with a conventional Master lock. This will save me a couple of pounds. The seat on my recumbent is made of foam and can get mighty soggy in the rain. I will use a kitchen garbage bag during the drive to Indiana and any time thereafter to keep my seat dry.

Repairs and Maintenance

The rack is in good working order, but it and the seat are held together using hose clamps. I bought extra hose clamps, in two sizes, just in case one of them fails.

Even with the protection built into my tires I know I will probably have a few flats. So I have spare tubes (one for the front and two for the back), a patch kit, tire levers, a tire boot (if I get a bad gash in a tire, I'll use a piece of old inner tube on the inside as a quick fix). I have a bunch of tools (allen wrenches, nut drivers, a spoke wrench, a chain break tool, vise grips), and some extra links of chain.

I have limited mechanical skill beyond tire changing and emergency chain repair. There are two possible little problems that can knock me out of action. One is broken spokes and the other is broken cables (for the brakes and gears). When a spoke breaks on the back wheel, you know it from the dreaded 'pang!' sound. (On my bike, this is always followed by a "damn!" sound.) A broken spoke needs to be attended to because the wheel will rapidly go out of true and make life generally miserable for you if you don't.

If the spoke brakes on the drivetrain side of the wheel, the only way to replace it with a conventional spoke is to take off the cassette. This requires special tools. I'd rather walk my bike home than attempt this repair on the road. Fortunately, some clever monkey invented an emergency Kevlar replacement spoke that can be put on without doing a gear-ectomy. This gizmo, called a Fiber Fix spoke, even comes with what appear to be idiot proof instructions. Since they can be used on the front or rear wheel, I decided to buy two of them.

If I break a cable, my plan is to curse loudly, hobble to the nearest bike shop, wave my visa card, and beg for mercy. I've broken two cables in my entire life so I am hoping that I am not overdue. Since my recumbent is quite long, the two rear cables (one for gears and one for brakes) are unusually long. I'll carry one of each just in case the bike shop I may limp into has none of either in stock.

Routes and Maps

I can't imagine how I'd plan for a bike trip without two resources: the Adventure Cycling Association (of which I am a member) and the internet. The ACA promotes bike touring by making maps similar to AAA trip tiks except they are designed for bike touring. ACA does all the work, finding back country roads and scouting out en route services so you can just ride. The ACA routes generally go across the country. Each route is subdivided into segments which are sold separately. I bought the segment from Iowa to Ohio. This will be my route from near my starting point in either Chesterton or North Judson, Indiana to Monroeville outside Fort Wayne on the Ohio border.

Once in Ohio I need to angle southeast toward DC. The Ohio DOT has a website with information about cross state bike routes. Columbus Outdoor Pursuits (COP), apparently a private sector organization based in Columbus, sells maps of these routes. Unfortunately none of them angle across the state the way I'd like to go. Regardless I bought three of these maps which would guide me in a zig zag pattern, east about 40 miles from Monroeville, south about 100 miles then east again, thereby circumventing the mean streets of Columbus.

COP also sells a packet of road maps covering the center of the state. I may follow some of these routes, angling east on back roads to the north of Columbus. This would take several miles off the overall route.

Eastern Ohio poses one problem. I need to cross West Virginia on US 40 through Wheeling to hook up with my route across Pennsylvania. Route 40 is a pretty good route except for a stretch in eastern Ohio where it merges with I-70. This means that if I take the north-of-Columbus route, I need to figure out a detour to avoid the I-70 trap. If I take the south of Columbus route, I need to figure out when to turn north to hook up with US 40. There are any number of ways to do it, I just have to choose my poison. Word has it that no matter what route I choose I am likely to hit some serious hills.

Getting across the West Virginia panhandle should be pretty uncomplicated. Unfortunately it will not be easy. Apparently US 40 is rather steep in sections leading into and out of the Ohio River valley at Wheeling. This is certain to be a challenging section of the trip. I anticipate much wheezing and cussing.

US 40 has appeal because it is part of the historic National Road, and has pretty good services. In Pennsylvania, the western section of US 40 is marked as Bicycle Route S. PennDOT's website has Adobe pdf maps of the S route so I printed out the sections I plan to use. The S route takes roads to the Great Allegheny Passage, a series of rail trails connecting (eventually) Pittsburgh and Cumberland, Maryland. Barring a monsoon, I plan on taking this trail all the way to Cumberland. There is a 35 mile section of the trail that is not done yet. The Great Allegheny Passage web describes on-road detours that traverse Savage Mountain, This section should pose quite a challenge, which I am not really looking forward to.

Once I reach Cumberland I can take the C&O Canal towpath all the way to DC. If it rains, I am bringing a Maryland state bicycling map, so I can bail out onto paved roads. The Maryland bicycle map gives a general description of the ridability of all the major roads in the state. I may also try out the Western Maryland Rail Trail which parallels the C&O for about 20-30 miles in the vicinity of Hancock, MD.

Also, if I am beset by a monsoon, I have on-road 'S' maps to take me clear to York PA if need be, bypassing the C&O and Savage Mountain altogether.

Transporting the bike

My recumbent is quite long, so I have a concern that a conventional back-of-the-car bike rack will not work too well on a long, high speed trip. I tested out my new Saris Bones bike rack on a 40 mile drive at highway speeds and everything seemed to work fine. I even tried out the kitchen bag on the seat and it stayed on at fairly high speeds. (I have also ridden the bike with the bag on the seat. It does a nice, if inelegant, job of keeping the seat dry.)

Camping Gear

I prefer campsites with hard roofs, food, and access to ice cold beer. These may not be available particularly on Labor Day weekend. So I'll need to bring some camping gear. I have a sleeping bag which is bulky, heavy, and sweat inducing, so I replaced it with an REI Travel Sack. It is much lighter and less bulky, and relatively inexpensive ($60). I may freeze to death, but I'll take my chances. I bought an inflatable ¾ length sleeping pad to make my back happy. After a completely befuddling trip to REI, I decided to buy the REI Clipper, a freestanding 2-person tent. I expect that I may use this junk on the C&O Canal.

(A trip to a place like REI is like going into a really good hardware store. It is full of amazing little gizmos and doohickeys. The sales clerk set up my tent without looking at the instructions. Even though she started out wrong she still had the whole thing up in less than five minutes, without the slightest bit of cussing. Whoever designs these things is incredibly clever. She also sold me the self inflating sleeping pad. You open a valve and air rushes in. In seconds you have a cushion for your back and hips. It rolls up just about as fast. Necessity is the mother of camping gear.)

Personal items

I am vacillating on how much clothing to bring. I could bring a whole bunch and mail my dirty stuff back. Opening the parcel would be pretty gross so I think I'll take three changes of bike clothes, and one of set of lightweight street clothes.

I have a reflective Illuminite vest for chilly mornings and evenings. I will bring tights in case I get a cold or rainy day. I have no illusions about keeping dry. I just don't want to freeze. In the event that the tights are not wet, I can wear them in my travel sack while sleeping.

I have assembled a pretty good set of personal care items in little sample sizes, to save weight. The usual stuff like shampoo, sunscreen, toothbrush, razor, shaving cream, etc. My medical supplies will be sparse, just Advil and antihistamines. I also will need a book, and something to write with and on.

Fitness

I have been a pretty ardent bike commuter for about 5 years now. Including weekend rides, I log about 5000 miles each year. I think I now have my recumbent 'legs'. For the uninitiated, unlike conventional bicycles, recumbents require very little use of the upper body. In order to avoid destroying your knees, you have to learn to spin at high RPMs. It took a couple thousand miles but I think I've got the leg strength to climb any hill.